All posts filed under: Seafood and Chicken

Chicken!

Published by Kathy Hunt

At dinner with friends last night the subject of easy chicken meals arose. Although I don’t cook chicken very often, I do have a surplus of good poultry recipes. While these dishes do require more than three ingredients and take longer than 30 minutes to prepare, they’re definitely worth the extra effort to make. As for cooking tips, I would advise using local, humanely raised, truly free-range chicken. Chances are that, if you buy locally, you can see how your chicken lived, what it ate and, ultimately, what you’re eating. Plus, you’ll find that chickens allowed to roam about freely in grass pastures taste better and are more healthful for you. Needless to say, it’s more healthful for them, too. Jumping off my soapbox, I’ll add that you should always cook chicken to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Insert a digital meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken to determine if it’s done. VINEGARY CHICKEN Note: If you don’t have white wine on hand, substitute 1/3 cup water and 3 …

Mad for Shad!

Published by Kathy Hunt

Last Saturday I made what’s quickly becoming an annual pilgrimage to Shad Fest in Lambertville, New Jersey. Although hundreds go to check out the art, crafts and antiques on display, I’m there for the shad that swims upriver to spawn each spring. Shad has been called the world’s boniest edible fish. Native American lore attributes this boniness to an unhappy porcupine who yearned to look different than he did. The porcupine asked the Great Spirit Manitou to alter his appearance. In response Manitou turned it inside out and tossed it into a river. At that moment the shad was born. While its numerous, small bones make it impossible to eat whole, a filleted shad is outstanding. Possessing a rich, oily, succulent meat, shad has a remarkable flavor that needs few extra ingredients or fancy techniques to shine. Just slide the fillets under your broiler or plunk them in a pan and cook until lightly browned. You can also bake or grill this fish. I’d advise having a skilled fishmonger or fisherman fillet it for you. …

Shrimp!

Published by Kathy Hunt

They’re Americans’ favorite shellfish and, after canned tuna, their preferred seafood. Yet, until the 20th century, shrimp were not readily available to diners. Unless you lived in the South, where shrimp were sold live, you missed out on these flavorful, little crustaceans. By the early 1900’s, though, advances in fishing trawler refrigeration allowed the mass marketing of and subsequent nationwide craze for shrimp. Over 300 species exist worldwide but I tend to find six or seven in our markets. Gulf White, Pink and Brown, Ecuadoran or Mexican White, Chinese White, Black Tiger and Rock are the types that I see. As the names suggest, Gulf shrimp hail from the Gulf Coast, Chinese and Black Tiger come from Asia, etc. Of these Black Tiger is the largest, growing up to one-foot in length. It’s also one of the more expensive. As a general rule, the larger the shrimp, the higher the cost. Buy shrimp and you buy according to number per pound or count. The smaller the number in the count, the larger the shrimp will …

Bowled over by Bisteeya

Published by Kathy Hunt

Lunch this week at the Moroccan restaurant Cafe Mogador reminded me of just how much I love this lively North African cuisine. Heady spices merge with fluffy grains, piquant fruits, and tender pulses, poultry and fish to create some of the most distinctive, delectable foods that I’ve ever eaten. Of the wonderful Moroccan offerings, the most unique has to be bisteeya. Considered by many to be Morocco’s most complex and elegant dish, this flaky, poultry-filled pastry remains beyond compare. Bisteeya has its roots in the Middle East. As early as the 7th century, Arab invaders introduced the concept of encasing spiced meats and nuts in dough. They also encouraged the use of paper-thin leaves of pastry, which Moroccans perfected and now refer to as warka. Warka is one of several ingredients that make bisteeya so memorable. To make warka, you press a ball of well-kneaded dough onto a hot, flat pan. As soon as the edges begin to dry, peel off the leaf and place it on a clean, flat surface. Cover it with a …

Clammin’ It Up with Clams

Published by Kathy Hunt

I spent much of this week on the West Coast, soaking up the sunshine and tasting the local specialties. For shellfish fans West Coast dining can be bliss. Home to petite Olympia oysters and gargantuan geoduck clams, it’s the perfect place for these delicacies. Among the bivalves – scallops, mussels, oysters and clams – I’m partial to clams. Sentimentality influences this for they were the first bivalves that I’d ever tasted. Dipped in batter, fried until crisp and golden and paired ketchup, they were the most exotic thing that eight-year-old me had ever eaten. Only two varieties of clams exist – hard-shell and soft-shell. Possessing a grayish shell less than two inches in diameter, the East Coast littleneck is the smallest hard-shell. Registering at two and a half-inches, the cherrystone comes next followed by the quahog or chowder clam. The quahog measures between three to six inches. Hard-shells such as Pacific littlenecks, Manilas, pismos and butter all hail from the West Coast. Contrary to their name, soft-shells possess slender, brittle shells that don’t close completely. …

What’s Cooking in Cambodia?

Published by Kathy Hunt

Ask that question 30 years ago and the answer would be far different than it is today. Ravaged by the Vietnam War and the reign of the Khmer Rouge, folks there were focused on basic survival, not on crafting their country’s cuisine. Yet, in spite of years of deprivation and starvation, Cambodians have persevered to create some of the most flavorful and freshest foods around. Last Friday I learned this firsthand by spending the day with a Khmer chef from Siem Reap, Cambodia’s Tara Angkor Hotel. Since Cambodian cooking focuses on fresh, local ingredients, we took a tuk tuk to the market to pick up the provisions for our meal. Lemongrass, galangal root, kaffir lime leaves, turmeric, onions, string beans and sweet potatoes all made their way into our basket. Along with garlic the first four ingredients would appear in both the curry chicken and amok trey, or freshwater fish amok, that we’d make. Pounded together into a paste, this aromatic mixture is known as kroeung. A distinctly Cambodian or Khmer flavoring, it’s used in …

The Pleasures of a Potpie

Published by Kathy Hunt

During weeks when I’m juggling deadlines and a dozen other things I lack both the time and desire to make fussy, time consuming meals. Since I can’t, or shouldn’t, order take-out every night, I turn to the time-pressed cook’s friend, the potpie. With potpies I simply plunk fish, chicken or vegetables into a pie crust, place a starchy topping over them and slide the concoction into the oven. In less than an hour I end up with something wholesome and filling for dinner — a pie cooked in a pot, or so to speak. Obviously, I’m not the first to cut corners with potpies. Indigenous to Northern Europe, this tasty dish has been popular since at least the 14th century. Although long reviled for their cuisine, the British have created a lengthy list of delicious, albeit sometimes quirky, potpies. Pies featuring goose, eel, game, steak and kidney, ham and egg, pork with anchovy paste, and cod, flounder or whiting fill the pages of countless British cookbooks. Although the traditional potpie consists of both top and …

Oyster Shooter for an Oyster Lover’s Holiday

Published by Kathy Hunt

Forget chocolate and champagne. This Valentine’s Day it’s all about oysters. With their rough, irregular shells and mottled, gray-green coloring, oysters may not seem like the sexiest looking fare. Yet, they have long been considered one of the world’s foremost aphrodisiacs. Ever since the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, rose from the sea in an oyster shell, folks have equated this bivalve with love. The most coveted of all mollusks, oysters have been culinary darlings for centuries. Their heyday came in the 19th century when quantities were high and costs were low. At that time diners in North America and Great Britain consumed them as if there was no tomorrow. A slew of oyster-based dishes, including Oysters Rockefeller and Oysters Bienville, came into being. Whether eaten on the half-shell or in a prepared dish, folks just couldn’t get enough of those delectable shellfish. Unsurprisingly, overconsumption led to shortages and higher prices. Fortunately, the oyster market has rebounded. Now farmed rather than gathered in the wild, their numbers remain high while their costs stay relatively low. …

Stewing over Winter

Published by Kathy Hunt

It’s another cold morning on the East Coast, one that leaves me with little desire to step outside and into the latest snowstorm. On days like this I start rooting through my freezer, searching for ingredients for a warm, hearty stew. A one-pot wonder, stew consists of slow-cooked vegetables and fish or meat and the thick, savory liquid in which these ingredients simmer. Although I’ve consumed this nourishing dish since early childhood, it still remains my favorite way to add some heat to wintry afternoons. Most stews were born out of necessity, using whatever items cooks had on hand. In the case of Irish stew, these staples included old, economically unviable sheep, or mutton, along with potatoes and onions. Beginning with mutton, Irish cooks of yore would place equal parts of meat, potato and onion in separate layers in a large casserole or kettle. They added a pinch of salt and pepper, poured in enough water to cover the layers, and clamped a lid on the kettle. They then set the concoction over an open …

Salty Like the Sea

Published by Kathy Hunt

One of the essential minerals and oldest seasonings has gone gourmet. Forget about the white, fine-grain, mass-produced salt crystals of the past. Chunky sea salts in hues of beige, pink, red and black have taken over kitchens, tabletops and gourmet grocery aisles around the globe. Prized by chefs, connoisseurs and home cooks, they come from France and the Mediterranean coast, from salt pans in Tunisia and Majorca and from countless other sites, including Hawaii, Australia and Bali. In the Mediterranean sea salt is produced by an age-old technique. Here sea water is collected in shallow basins and allowed to evaporate in the sun. As it dries up, salt forms at the base of the pans. There it takes on the color of the clay or other natural materials found on the bottom. The salt at the top remains pure white. In France this delicate salt is known as fleur de sel. Light tasting and quick dissolving, it’s primarily used to finish dishes but it occasionally appears in baked goods. What do cooks do with all …